Troublesome Topic: Baby Girls Were Just as Valuable as Baby Boys!

The passage that prescribes the purification of a mother who had just given birth is Lev 12:1-5. You will notice that the times required for her purification were different, which makes us think that the value of the babies was different based on their gender.

However, there is a big surprise waiting for us in this passage because that assumption is incorrect.

Leviticus 12:2

Translation

Speak to the sons of ISRAEL saying, “If a woman has conceived and given birth to a male, she must be isolated

seven days as in the days when she is shunned

due to her filthy menstruation that causes her to feel ill;

she must be isolated,

Paraphrase

Speak to THOSE WHO REFUSE TO LET GO OF GOD and say this: “If a pregnant woman gives birth to a baby boy, she must be isolated for seven days in the same way and for the same reasons as when she is kept away from others due to the bloodiness of her monthly period that makes her have cramps; yes, she must be in isolation.

Leviticus 12:3

Translation

and on the eighth day the flesh of his front-most male sex organ shall be cut off.

Paraphrase

Eight days after his birth the baby will have some tissue cut off the end of his front-most male sex organ (a procedure called circumcision).

Leviticus 12:4

Translation

Then thirty days and three days she shall continue in the purification

of her blood and she shall not touch any holy thing nor go into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled.

Paraphrase

Then, for an additional thirty-three days she must continue in the ritual that teaches the importance of her blood; she should not touch anything that is considered holy or go into God’s special meeting place until after her religious ritual that teaches the importance of blood has ended.

Leviticus 12:5

Translation

But if she bears a female, she shall be isolated two weeks as in the days when she is shunned due to her filthy menstruation, and sixty days and six days she shall continue in the purification of her blood.”

Paraphrase

But if she gives birth to a baby girl, she must be isolated for two weeks in the same way and for the same reasons as when she has her monthly period, and for an additional sixty-six days she will continue in the ritual that teaches the importance of her blood.”

Notice that with each type of birth the isolation was divided into two sections, a shorter section and a longer section.

The shorter time was to deal with the fact that she had bled during the birthing process. It was based on the same reasoning as the isolation required while a woman had her monthly period. It was intended to teach the importance of blood and the life it represents. In a way that seems strange to us, God used the status of “unclean,” which I call “isolated,” as a way to teach that blood, and life, are of utmost importance. In the case of blood, “unclean” is good and means “important.”

The longer period of time was to deal with the fact that she had brought forth a new life, a new source of blood, and new “seed” (DNA). The fact that the second section was longer means that bringing forth new life is a bigger deal than the simple act of bleeding.

This religious ritual took at total of 40 days for baby boys and 80 days for baby girls.

Why were the lengths of time different for boys and girls?

The isolation involved did not show that blood is bad, but that blood is good, in fact it is necessary, so treat it with respect. Thus the longer time frame would initially appear to indicate greater importance. At first glance this appears to show that baby girls were more important and more valuable than baby boys!!! But there is one caveat. The boy was circumcised on the eighth day. In other words, he underwent an additional religious ceremony which showed his commitment to God (actually his parents’ commitment). The length of the isolation associated with the baby boy was the standard, because the first part of it matched the length of isolation for a woman’s monthly period – seven days (See Lev 15:19). But since the boy received an additional religious ceremony that the girl did not receive, the length of time the mom spent in isolation for a girl was made double for each stage of isolation.

The conclusion is that baby boys and baby girls were of equal importance and value, but the boy went through two religious ceremonies to prove it, and the girl (and her mom) went through one. The time of a mother’s isolation was doubled so the baby girl would be seen as equal to the boy.

What Did This Teach?

It taught that new life is a big deal. Only God can give life, so only God can take it away.
We must make a priority of caring for and nurturing this new life.
Although the roles of boys and girls will be different when they grow up, each is equally important and valuable. Treat them the same when value is the focus, and differently when roles are the focus.

Is the culture you live in out of balance? Does it value the wrong things some times? Does it value some people more than others? Does it fail to see the great potential God has placed within each person?

How about you? Do you see the great potential God has placed within each person? Do you treat people the same when value is the focus, and differently when roles are the focus?

The next lesson in the full series on Covenants is: Doesn’t the Law Value Men More than Women?

Footnotes

1: "isolated":

The word used here is commonly translated “unclean”; its basic meaning is “polluted, defiled or contaminated.” But it has numerous facets, and not all of them are negative; not all of them are nasty. In cases which refer to blood, like this one, the status of “unclean” was used to show how important it is. We should “isolate” blood because it is important, not because it is bad.

2: "shunned":

This word comes from a root word meaning “to retreat, to depart, flee, remove, stray.” The main idea is that of distance, i.e. “far away.”

3: "feel ill":

This word means “to feel ill, to not feel good, to be sick.” Here feeling ill referred to having cramps. She was not put in isolation because she had cramps, but because of the blood that was involved. It was all about the blood.

4

This word does mean “purification or cleansing” because that’s what was usually needed after becoming “unclean.” But in this case, blood is good, so the ritual that usually brought purification was used more to teach the importance of blood than to actually purify from contamination or true defilement.